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Hi everyone! My name is Jayden Vincente (or J. R. Vincente) and I am an author of erotic fiction. I’ve been writing for over 15 years and published my first novel in 2015! I am active in the BDSM lifestyle and have been focusing my writing on Dominant and submissive relationships. My husband (and Dom), Richard, often writes with me on my blog. We enjoy writing together, but we haven’t ventured into writing a novel together (yet). Maybe someday. Please check out my published works, but also look for links across the top for long-form stories on the A to Z Challenge pages, as well as Short Story Collections I’ve written. All are guaranteed to make you squirm in your seat. 😉 Enjoy!
What would you do with the sudden opportunity to explore any facet of sexuality and BDSM with no judgment, prejudice, or dangerous consequences? In Mara’s community of Zebulon, that’s what she’s about to find out. With endless possibilities for exploration, she’s asked to work on a special assignment—an offer that will change the course of her life.
I lied, we’re not doing any of those things! The whole point (that I admittedly got away from) was that this was going to be holiday-themed smut. May Day was last week, and that’s a great holiday to write smut about! There’s a phallic symbol, ribbons/ropes for bondage, and some fertility going on. So, here we go, the gang celebrates May Day!
~Richard
Chelsea wriggled her ankles and wrists, making sure the bonds were nice and tight. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” she said.
Mark grinned and slapped Arnold on the back, “It was all Arnie’s idea. Really, I think it’s rather devious,” he wiped a fake tear from his eye. “He’s growing up so fast.”
“But this is the boring kind of bondage! The kind where you spend all this time tying me up and stuff just so I’m inaccessible! It’s like… I dunno, backward Christmas or something. Imagine if you came down on Christmas morning and had a bunch of presents under the tree, and instead of opening them, you had to wrap them up and not touch them all day.”
Hannah giggled, “Sounds to me like the present is the one complaining here. The rest of us are unwrapped and going to have lots of fun.
Chelsea pouted and rolled her eyes. “This is clearly more your kind of thing. Why aren’t you the one up here?”
“Because Arnie wanted it to be you, and Daddy likes it when you get all frustrated and squirmy.”
“We have to do what Arnold wants sometimes. It’s not fair that he’s always the one getting caged and cucked and teased…” said Mark.
“I do regret it a little bit,” Arnold said, walking over to her. “You look amazing in that outfit.” He traced a hand over the fabric vine running across Chelsea’s breast, barely covering her nipples. He’d found it online as a fae queen outfit, the sort of thing that covered only a few bits to make the rest seem even more enticing. The rest were simply naked, save for flower crowns that Hannah had made.
“If you want to punish him later, he did keep part of it from you,” Mark said, holding up a whip with a green tail and a red rose-shaped pommel.
“Using that on your ass might make it worth it,” Chelsea said, giving Arnold a glare. He gulped but couldn’t help from grinning as his cock twitched a little. “Now that I get a present when you three are done, I think we should get started.”
They laughed and picked up the ribbons, running from the top of the pole. They slowly circled around her, the ribbon wrapping around the pole until Arnold’s strand crossed over her forehead. They made it another revolution, Hannah’s covering one of her eyes, before Mark’s wrapped over her mouth.
“Breathing okay?” he asked.
She grunted in the affirmative and nodded her head as best she could. On the next pass, he put a small bell in her hands, something she could drop if she needed out.
She let out a soft moan as Hannah’s next pass slid over her neck, providing just the right amount of light pressure to make her rub her thighs together. Hannah giggled as she made another loop around, her ribbon falling between Chelsea’s breasts, making both of them stand out all the more.
A few more wraps brought Mark between her legs. He came in close, kissing up the side of her neck while he lifted her thigh slightly with one hand, feeling the wetness there.
“And you said you didn’t like this kind of bondage,” he said, slipping his ribbon under her leg and pulling it up a little. The red fabric lifted up the already short skirt of her dress, revealing her pale skin underneath, before pulling taut against her pussy lips, drawing a whine from her.
“There we go, just grind on that if you get too frustrated.”
“Canf I cumfff?” Chelsea asked, muffled but not totally by the ribbon.
“What do you two think?”
Hannah giggled and shook her head.
Arnold looked into her eyes, almost withering under her gaze, his cheeks blazing red. But he shook his head.
“Oooh, he really is getting into it. Maybe you’ll be in chastity next, birdie.”
Chelsea just growled.
A few more loops had her thoroughly locked in place, and Mark tied the lines together at the base of the pole.
“Alright, this is your scene, what’s next, A-Man?”
Hope you enjoyed! We’ll probably be here most of the month. I’m going to go play with Jayden after she posts this. I think she feels similarly about this kind of bondage to Chelsea, but I’m sure she’ll be nice and wet after she reads it.
Well, another A to Z Blog Challenge has come and gone. I’m both sad to see it go and happy that it’s over. As always, I had hoped to have my posts pre-written and maybe even scheduled before April started. As it turned out, I had the first few written, but by the second week, I was winging it. That said, I am proud that I had every day’s post scheduled for midnight(ish) the following day, and I didn’t miss a day! I even posted on Sunday, though Richard wrote the posts.
I am very happy to be in May now, even though I lost my 34 day posting streak yesterday. Ah well. Maybe I’ll start posting daily and build that streak back up. I don’t know if it’s worth it to try, but you never know. Short posts are fun, at least. I enjoy reading others’ short posts.
If you did the A to Z Challenge, please drop your blog link in the comments so I can come check it out now that things are starting to settle down! As for me, I am going to go off and enjoy a quiet evening with my neglected cross stitch and catching up on some TV.
~Jayden
Did you miss my A to Z posts? You can read them in any order, but here’s the first one for 2024.
Didn’t you?
But nope! Here I am, keeping the streak alive.
Richard and I had a rare Friday evening with no particular plans. Should we have been unboxing things in our new house? Probably. But instead, we went on a date to see The Fall Guy. It was a rare movie that we BOTH enjoyed—quite a bit, I might add! It was very funny but with a great storyline and an amazing cast. I highly recommend it!
So thanks mostly to the A to Z Challenge (and Richard’s Sunday meet-cutes), I have over 30 days in a row of blog posts. I thought about letting it go today, but then I decided that no, I would really like to keep the streak going. I don’t know what exactly will happen or how long it will last, but I think I want to at least try to keep posting daily.
Things have been crazy busy in our personal lives, and kink has largely fallen by the wayside. I was very excited to get a short scene in the other night, though. Richard spent the evening while I was out texting me sexy things, leading to instructions to come directly to the bedroom when I got home and masturbate. I wish I were more surprised when he jumped out of the closet, but it was still sexy as hell. I have to admit that I was very close to orgasm from the slightest touch because I was so wound up. It was very fun, and may turn into a better story sometime. What have you done that’s kinky lately?
If you’d like to chime in and let us know your answers to the questions or drop a link to your post if you’re participating, please do so in the comments! And check out the IWSG website for more answers!
May 1 question – How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?
Jayden: I am definitely prone to distractions. For a long time, I’ve found that I don’t write well at home. Being quarantined during the pandemic really screwed with my writing process! I’ve learned that I can sit in a coffee shop with music on my earbuds and that will keep me focused. Many less distractions for me. I’m good at tuning out strangers, but I’m terrible at tuning out the things that need to be done at home. We just moved last month, and I have an office for the first time in my life. An actual office! I have hope that it will work out well for me. In fact, I’m writing from my office right now.
Richard: They can derail me sometimes. I find that being consistent (almost ritualistic) is helpful for focusing. Make some tea, put on specific music (instrumental/soundtrack type stuff). If I really need to dig in, I’ll switch off the internet to cut down on distractions.
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the last installment, but stay tuned! I might continue a few of the most popular stories.
– Jayden
The Zoo is my favorite place. The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where I live, is free. So I go most days. It’s a great place to walk around, and I get to see all the animals.
My favorites are:
Today, I’m at the California Sea Lion exhibit. They’re lounging around in the summer heat, taking a dip to cool off periodically. They look so lazy, but when they get into the water, they can be so active. Just like me. Active when I’m not overheating.
I take my water bottle out of my bag and take a long drink. Before I realize it, I’ve drunk the whole thing. Crap. The water bottle refilling station isn’t close to here. I sigh and resign myself to heading over to the Seal Rock Cafe. At least it’s close.
As I stand up to head over, I bump into someone. I immediately feel a coolness come over my flushed skin as his water dumps all over my shirt.
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!” he exclaims.
I look down at the water seeping along my shirt, and then I start laughing. “I was kind of hot!”
I can see the relief on his face. “It’s just water. I’m so sorry.”
“No, no,” I say, “I wasn’t looking where I was going when I got up.
“Still, I should have been paying better attention, too.”
“Can I buy you another water?” I ask. “I was just going up to the cafe.”
He hesitates, glances over his shoulder, and then says, “Yeah, let’s do that.”
We head in the direction of the cafe, and I can’t help but wonder if he was looking for someone when he glanced over his shoulder… but dare I ask?
Do you believe that the National Zoo doesn’t have animals for Q, U, or Z on their website? No Zebras! Crazy! What a fun way to end the A to Z Blog Challenge! If you joined in, drop your link in the comments. I’m hoping to go back and visit a lot of blogs in May!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
Ah yes, the toy aisle of Target. The place where nostalgia burrows its way into our lives. I push my daughter’s stroller down the aisle and look at the toys that are making a comeback. I swear I had that exact stuffed dog when I was little. I pick up the box the dog is in because I can’t help but look at it. It has little tiny puppies in its velcro belly. I think mine had four puppies, but it could come with up to six! I put it in the compartment on the stroller I was using for a cart and was just about to push on when I saw a toy that didn’t belong.
A yo-yo was sitting on the shelf behind the dog. I used to love playing with a yo-yo. I could do (simple) tricks and everything. It was a fun time in my life. But now, I try to catch my one-year-old daughter before she tumbles out of my arms instead of trying to wind up a yo-yo. I wouldn’t trade her for the world, but being a single mom is hard work. Her father left me when I found out I was pregnant. I’m sorry she won’t get to know him (his choice, not mine), but my dad is an amazing grandfather, so I’m glad that she’ll have a good male role model anyway.
But I’m still responsible for her, and she’s a lot to juggle. I glance at my watch and realize that I need to hurry before she gets cranky. It’s almost time for her nap, and I would really like to be home before that.
I head toward the baby section and nearly run into another stroller. “Sorry!” I say.
“No problem,” says the dad, pulling his stroller back. He has a daughter who looks to be about the same age as mine.
He waves me on, and I keep going toward baby items. I realize that he’s following me. I feel like this could be the beginning of a horror novel, but he’s pushing a stroller, so that seems unlikely.
When I get to the diaper aisle, I turn and pull the stroller over to the side. Crap. The diapers I like are on the top shelf, and there are none pushed to the front. I might have to either climb the shelves (which I shouldn’t do) or get help (which I don’t want to do). I just want to get out of here. Ugh! If Yasmine falls asleep before we get to the car, I’m either trapped in Target or resigning myself to a cranky baby all afternoon and evening.
I reach up and stretch on my tippy toes, trying to get there, but I’m failing.
And then, the guy with the stroller is pulling into the aisle. “Can I help you?” he asks.
“Sure,” I say. “That would be great. Thank you.”
He reaches up easily and grabs a pack of diapers. “Just one?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he says.
“Your daughter is so cute. My daughter sleeps that way, too,” he says.
I turn and look, and sure enough, both of our strollers have girls sleeping in the same position, with their heads lolling to one side and their hands curled up in a cute way. Son of a gun, she’s asleep.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, seeing my reaction.
“Now that she’s sleeping, she won’t nap if I try to take her out and put her in the car. So… I guess I’m going to be wandering around Target for a while.”
“Will she sleep if you stop walking?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“Great, do you want to get a cup of coffee at the cafe? My treat. My daughter is also sleeping.”
I look him up and down, look at his sleeping baby, and think, why the hell not? “That would be lovely.”
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
We finally come to the last Sunday in April, leaving me with no logical choice but Mark and Chelsea’s meet cute. I thought a lot about this one this month and honestly, I don’t know that I’m any closer to what to do with it than when I started. It’s a shame, since the proposal scene Hallmark starts with actually is a meet cute, but I can’t just repost that. I’ll put a longer note explaining some things at the end, but for now, enjoy one way that Mark and Chelsea maybe could’ve met, in some universe.
~Richard
subadubdub69: *kneels* I’m so excited for tonight, Sir.
MakerMark: *smirks* Sure you’re not scared?
subadubdub69: A little. But that makes it fun.
MakerMark: I assume you’ll be wearing the outfit I picked out for you earlier.
subadubdub69: Yes, Sir.
MakerMark: I’ll have a red scarf on. I’ll probably spot you first, but just in case. I’ll finish getting ready and see you soon, pet.
subadubdub69: I can’t wait, Sir.
Chelsea signed off of AIM and took a deep breath. She was finally going to meet Him. Besides the scarf, she had no idea what he looked like. Well, that wasn’t quite true. Creamy white skin and (if the carpets matched the drapes) dark brown hair. They’d been IMing for most of the semester when she responded to his Craigslist post and decided they couldn’t go away from winter break without meeting face-to-face. Thanksgiving break had been hell. Back in her tiny room at her parents’ house, trying to follow all his orders with them on top of her all the time. Sir had been even more demanding than usual, probably because he had more free time. Her nipples ached as she remembered the day she’d been stuck with binder clips on for half an hour due to an unplanned mother-daughter lunch date.
Bonnie, her roommate, had already left for the semester, leaving her free to lounge around naked with all her toys on the bed. Sir ordered her to wear a buttplug (she’d recently worked up to being able to keep the 3 incher in for a prolonged period of time), a white button-down shirt (no bra, but the material was just thick enough), a small silky red scarf (not quite a collar…) and a short pencil skirt (no panties either). They’d watched Secretary “together” (synced up over Skype) for a first date, and he’d teased her about being his sexretary ever since. Next to the clothes was a length of black rope. She’d learned to tie a simple harness around her hips that framed her cunt beautifully. She blushed at the thought of him checking it at the restaurant. Fighting the urge to rub one out before the date, she did her makeup (slut-red lipstick as He called it), hair (a single pony in the back for Him to hold), tied the harness, popped in the plug (with a moan), and put on the outfit. She was lucky it hadn’t snowed. He’d left her footwear at her discretion, knowing she didn’t have a car on campus and would have to walk the half mile in whatever she picked.
She picked a pair of 3 inch heels in black. High enough to make her ass look great and show her dedication, but not so bad that she’d be forced to crawl before He ordered it.
She slipped a long black coat over all of it and headed out of her dorm room. No one was in the hallway. Probably for the best. The other girls on the floor would have something to say about her slipping out right before break in this outfit.
The elevator ride down the eight floors seemed to take forever, and she rubbed her thighs together, trying to keep her dripping cunt under control. How was she going to make it through dinner without staining the chair?
Finally, she made it down, out the front door (waving as casually as she could at the desk RA), and down the hill into town. The wind teased her bare legs at the bottom of her coat. How cold would it be tonight? It wouldn’t matter. There was only one place she intended to be after dinner, and that was His bedroom. Visions of whips, chains, wax, and gags kept her occupied, and she barely even realized she was standing in front of the cafe. She slid out of the coat so he would be able to see her and stepped inside. Someone was sitting near the back in a black sweater and red scarf. Her heart stopped when she saw him, and her jaw dropped. His eyes showed almost the same, but he stood up and waved her over.
“Mark? Is that you? Are you?” she walked back to the table and grabbed onto it as her legs turned to jelly.
“Chelsea? I thought you gave me a fake name! I can’t believe it.”
She nodded slowly.
“Sit down,” he said, and the subby part of her brain buzzed and put her ass in the chair before she could think about it.
“So, just to be clear, you’re MakerMark?”
He nodded. “And you’re subadubdub69?”
“Yeah,” she said, the screenname taking away some of the awkwardness. She tried to tack a Sir on at the end, but her tongue didn’t quite get there.
“I can’t believe I spent the last three months cybering with a girl who sat three seats behind me in senior pre-calc.”
“I… yeah… this is weird…”
He gave her a little smirk, one that made her forget all about tangents and back to the nights she’d stayed up late hurting herself for him.
“Well, let’s discuss it over dinner. Don’t order too heavy, though. I still plan to take you back with me when we’re finished.”
Chelsea nodded and picked up the menu. “I’d like that. Sir.”
Like I said, I spent a lot of time thinking about how Mark and Chelsea would’ve met. I don’t think I formally established it earlier in Hallmark, but I’ve given just enough details to make it annoying. Long story short, they’re kind of boxed in by the ages I put them at earlier in the story, which has them together in high school but broken up early in college. Not only does that put me in the kind of weird position of having to write BDSM smut about possible minors (and where are they going to get money for toys and outfits and parties!?) it also leaves me with a fairly short timespan to cram it all into. How is Chelsea supposed to be this super experienced sub when she’s only had one Dom, and probably only for a few months at that?
In the end, I decided to push the whole thing up, have them meet in college and stay together for at least a couple years, and then let them fumble around and reunite in their early to mid-thirties. I imagine them around that age anyway, so it’s not a huge change. I think I like this scene, or a variant of it, as the way they first “meet” and if I ever do a “clean” version of the story, I’ll work it in. Thanks to everyone who followed along this month. If any of you are new from AtoZ, I hope you’ll stick around for the continuing adventures of Chelsea, Mark, Arnie, Hannah, and all the rest. I just realized all but one of the stories was a Mark-Meet-Cute, and I kind of regret not finding a way to make that last one work. Oh well. I’m not sure what’s coming next week. Part of me wants to get back to the main story, but both this one and Mark and Hannah ended on a fun little cliffhanger themselves that I could probably wrap up in a week or two. Drop a comment if you care, otherwise we’ll all find out next week!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
“Shit! Shit shit shit.” I just fell, and I’m pretty sure I broke something. I check my watch and it’s after 9 at night. That means the urgent care is closed and I have to go to the actual emergency room. I really don’t want to do that. I really, really don’t, but my wrist hurts a lot. A lot a lot.
I’m really not even sure I should be driving, but whatever. I certainly can’t afford to pay for an ambulance.
I struggle to get myself presentable enough for the emergency room and get in the car. “Ow, ow, ow,” I keep saying over and over again. This is just not what I wanted my night to look like.
Two hours later, I’m sitting in the waiting room, cradling my arm, trying not to whimper. It just sucks all around.
I can’t stop my foot from tapping. The pain is so bad and they haven’t given me anything. I just want to go to sleep. I’m so tired. I try to watch the people who are coming in and out just to give myself something to do. A single woman with a baby. A teenager and his disgruntled dad. And a guy on his own. Looks to be about my age (thirty). Just as my gaze falls on him, he catches me watching him. Oh crap.
He smiles a little, and I smile back. I watch in fascinated horror as he gets up and walks over to me. “Hi, I’m Xander.”
“Hi, I’m Xara. I’m just waiting for an x-ray,” I tell him, indicating my cradled arm.
“Me too,” he says. “May I sit with you while we wait?”
“Sure,” I say. He sits down in the chair across from mine so we can see each other.
“So, what happened.”
“It’s a long story,” I say.
“It looks like we’ve got time,” he responds with a smile.
I suppose we do…
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
Doing the wash is the chore I absolutely hate the most. Probably that’s because when I was married, I just did a load of laundry most nights in the laundry room that was adjacent to our bedroom. But now I’m divorced and live in a small apartment with no laundry in my unit and the laundry room in the basement of the building tends to eat quarters. (Yes, you have put in actual quarters. There’s no card swipe. And no, they don’t have a change machine. It’s obnoxious, really.)
So that’s how I found myself at the laundromat on a Saturday with enough clothes to fill four of the big washers. (I can also now tell you that I have enough underwear to get me through an entire month.)
I lug in my multiple bags of laundry and get everything started before sitting down with a book. I could probably go for a walk or something, but I just want to sit and read. Unfortunately, there’s a guy there who is going to make it difficult. I can tell already. He’s not a bad person, just a chatty person. I don’t want to put on headphones because the music would distract me, but I don’t know how else to politely let him know that I don’t want to start a conversation. It’s not him, honest. I just don’t want to talk to anyone right now.
I take a deep breath and listen as he chats away with someone who’s getting their laundry out of the dryer. I know that my reprieve of his chattiness is waning. The person he’s talking to leaves with a wave, and now we’re the only two people in the place.
He walks toward me, and I steel myself. I know it’s coming.
“Hey there,” he says.
I look up at him from my book.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t see that you were reading. I hope you enjoy your book.”
And with that, he walks away down the row to an empty set of chairs and sits down.
I was not expecting that. Now I want to talk to him.
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
I am only 30 years old, and my hair is falling out. I’m not sick. I’m not doing chemotherapy. I’m just a woman with unfortunate thinning hair. I’ve been mostly successful hiding it under hats or styling my hair, so it’s not obvious, but there’s only so much that can do for me. I went to the doctor, and she recommended some vitamins. So there I was, at the drug store, looking at a long aisle of pills, trying to find the one I needed.
“Can I help you find something?” a young employee asked.
It was nice of him to ask, but I was too embarrassed. So instead of saying yes like a reasonable person, I said, “No, thanks. I’m good.” He walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I continued my hunt down the row of bottles. The vitamins were (at least roughly) in alphabetical order. This shouldn’t be so hard!
I decided to take a lap around the store to give myself a mental break, and then I came upon another person. Nervous as I was, this was a man I wanted to talk to. I tried to get a glimpse of myself in a mirror of some kind to see how my hair looked, but I couldn’t. I just had to hope it was okay.
I didn’t pay attention to what he was looking at. I just wandered over next to him and pretended to look at the shelf, but really, I was trying to look at him.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
My mind blanked.
“Uhh, just looking.”
“At the male pattern baldness section?” he asked, incredulous.
Oh shit. Well, “Yeah, actually.”
I turned my focus to the products in front of us, and lo and behold, there was the one I had been looking for all along. I picked it up off the shelf and flipped it over, glancing over the details on the back. And with a confidence I didn’t feel, I walked away, and hoped that he would follow me.
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
“Uhhh,” she stood in front of the people at the bar and was suddenly too shy to say anything. She had put her name in to sing karaoke. She had been nervous but had decided to go for it. And yet, here she was, standing in front of them now, staring like a deer in headlights.
And then the music started. She looked at the screen, a countdown clock was running. Was she going to actually get the words out?
She had ignored her friend’s cardinal rule for karaoke: always pick a song people love singing along to. It makes it much easier to sing. But she hadn’t. Instead, she’d picked a love song. One that she adored, but still, it was quiet and slow, and not that entertaining. What had she been thinking? Maybe the malibu bay breeze I had made me more confident, but since that was an hour ago, her light buzz had worn off, and now she had to sing in front of all these people.
The notes played, the countdown ended, words appeared, and before she knew it, she was singing a song she loved, and people seemed to be enjoying it. She caught a few people singing along, and of course, people were chatting, but it seemed to go well. At the end, there was applause.
She nervously put the microphone back on the stand and stepped away, not bowing or making a show of herself like some of the more confident people would.
Her heart was pounding, and her palms were sweaty as she beelined for the bar. The bartender smiled at her. “You did great, Ursula!”
“Thanks!” she said in reply. She smiled.
“Do you want another drink?”
She nodded, confirmed that she wanted another of the same, and sat down on an empty stool while she waited for the bartender to mix her drink. As the bartender handed it over, a man slid onto the stool next to her and said, “That drink is on me.”
Ursula turned to look at him. “Uri?”
“Hey, Ursula,” he said with a smile.
“It’s been a while.”
“It sure has,” Uri said. “I want to introduce you to someone.”
“Oh?” Ursula asked. Ursula wasn’t interested in men, and Uri knew it, so she was surprised when a beautiful woman appeared next to him.
“This is Uma.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Uma,” Ursula said, extending her hand to the other woman.
“You did a beautiful job up there,” she said with a smile. “What are you drinking?”
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
Spoiler: This one isn’t going to be a meet cute, just a cute scene.
– Jayden
“Scooby Doo is my favorite TV show of all time,” I say as I snuggle up against my boyfriend, Tom.
“Really?” he asks, and I can hear the smirk in his voice.
“Yeah,” I say. “What’s not to love? Funny jokes, hilarious gimmicks, ridiculous storylines, and happy endings.”
“That’s fair,” he says, and he pulls me close. He grabs the bowl of popcorn and watches with me as Dick Van Dyke in cartoon form falls into the Tunnel of Love along with Shaggy and Scooby. I laugh as he tries to find a light switch and falls out of the both.
Tom laughs, too, though not as hard, and I am grateful that I’ve found him. I want to kiss him and hug him and snuggle him forever. Maybe I’m just tired, but I fit so perfectly against him that there is nowhere in the world I’d rather be.
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
“Did you hear about the submarine?!” my roommate, Sarah, said as she threw open our shared door. I don’t know who designed this dorm, but why they would make it so that the doors could fly open and bang against the wall, I’ll never understand.
“What submarine?” I asked.
“The one that went down to see the Titanic. They lost signal.”
“Oh, wow,” I said, still only half paying attention. I was trying to study for a math exam, and math was not my best subject. I just needed to get through this final exam and then we would be off for the summer. I was ready for it, but…
“You aren’t even listening to me,” she said, but I could hear the jest in her voice. “What are you doing?”
“Studying for this final tomorrow. I just know I’m going to fail.”
“You won’t,” she said. “You always make it through.”
I shrugged. “I’m not so sure this time.”
“Why don’t you call Sam?” Sam was her ex-boyfriend’s friend, who was a genius when it came to math. When Sarah and Chuck were dating, Sam hung around with Sarah a lot. I never really got to know him, though.
“I don’t even have his number,” I protested.
“I can give it to you.”
“I guess,” I said. “Why would he want to help me?”
She shrugged. “He’s just a nice guy. You could offer to like, pay him, you know.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess so.”
“It’s up to you,” she said, and my phone dinged with the notification that she had sent me his number.
I decided that I wasn’t getting anywhere with studying on my own and it didn’t hurt to ask. I hesitated over what to say, but finally settled on, “Hey, Sam, it’s Stacy, Sarah’s roommate. I’m struggling studying for this Statistics final and I was wondering if you might be able to help?”
I put my phone down, my heart pounding a little harder than it had been moments before. Why was I so nervous? He probably wasn’t going to even respond.
And then my phone started ringing. Ringing! Who made phone calls anymore?
It was Sam.
Oh. My. God.
I almost hit reject but then decided not to. “Hello?” I asked, as though I didn’t know exactly who it was.
“Hey, Stacy, I’m glad you texted.”
“You are?”
“Yeah!” He sounded excited. “I love stats, and I would be happy to help you out. Do you want to grab a coffee?”
This isn’t a date, I reminded myself, as I said yes, and made plans to meet in twenty minutes.
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Time for… Mark and Arnie! This one should be fun. Next week I have to figure out if I’m going to try to squeeze into the timeline I set up or retcon the crap out of Mark and Chelsea’s meet cute. Also, the game day went from Bill’s house to Jenny’s. Bill and Jenny are married or something. Just roll with it.
~Richard
Arnold hummed to himself as he pulled into Bill’s driveway. He grabbed his army case and cider from the passenger seat and hopped out of the car. He let himself in and followed the familiar path into the kitchen, something spicy wafting out towards him.
“How’s it going, guys?” he asked. “Oh, you must be Pete!”
He’d never seen the guy leaning over the counter before. He was stirring a crockpot full of something orange, and he turned to face Arnold.
“Yeah. Arnold, right?” he closed the pot and held out a hand. Arnold set his cider on the counter and shook it.
“That’s me. Nice to meet you.”
Pete glanced at the beer and smiled. “Oh, cider. That’s fun. I was afraid I’d have to pick between six flavors of Pinesol.”
Arnold laughed. “Yeah, Bill and the guys like their IPAs. What’d you bring?”
“Salsa-queso chicken. Super easy, three ingredients, pretty tasty. Goes good with tortilla chips.
Arnold looked down at it. “My fiancée makes something similar. Hers is a little thicker though.”
“Yeah, it depends on how long you cook it for and stuff. Some people tell me it’s a soup, but it’s supposed to be more of a dip.”
“Well, I’ll have to have some in a little bit. Where are the other guys?”
“They’re out back taking a hit. You want to go out?”
“Nah, I’ll stick with the cider,” he put his army box case on the table and started unpacking. “What do you play?”
“I dabble. I brought Hellborne today.”
“Summon or sacrifice?”
“Summon. Sacrifice is boring in big games, you spend three quarters of the game waiting instead of only half like one vee one. What’ve you got?”
“Betrayed Paladins.”
“Nice! Do you roll an Ex?”
“Of course. Spent like a week on him.” He fished the model out and passed him over to the new guy, showing off the wyvern on his breastplate.
Pete whistled. “Nice detail on the crest. I wish I could get texture like that.”
“Thanks. It helps that it’s freaking huge. Those tiny summons are a pain to do detail on.”
“They are, I had fun with this summoner though.” He passed over a model of a woman in a blood colored chainmail bikini with firey whips.
“Was this a succubus?”
“It was, but Ariel found a nicer one and printed me one so I decided to do a conversion.”
“Cool work turning the whips into fire.”
“Yeah, that was a pain. Worth it, though. Gotta keep those Geminis in line.”
“Ughhhh, are you going to make me kill them like fifty times?”
“Only if I want to lose. I should go for at least sixty or seventy in a game this size.
Let’s see if Jaden gets this up tonight or is too busy playing her mouse clock board game…
Jayden did get it up tonight, ha!
Jayden will be back tomorrow, and I’ll see you all next Sunday!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
Romance is dead.
Or at least, it feels that way to me. I just found out that my boyfriend of three years has been cheating on me. He was so romantic, too. He was always sending me flowers, taking me out to dinner, bringing me gifts. But it turns out that all those times he was traveling “for work,” he was actually with another woman. And they were married! Can you believe it? I am so angry that I’m surprised smoke isn’t coming out of my ears. It certainly feels like it should be.
When I found out, I wanted to slap him or hit him or run him over with my car. Of course, I wouldn’t actually do that, but it was a tempting thought. How could he do this to me?
But at least we didn’t have kids. I mean, of course we didn’t have kids. He didn’t want to have kids, ever, he said, but his wife has kids. With him. He just didn’t want any more kids. But he didn’t say that to me. He just said that he didn’t want kids, and since neither did I, we just left it at that. I still can’t believe I fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.
I sat down at my favorite bar, waiting for Pete, my regular bartender to bring me a drink, except… “You’re not Pete!” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.
The bartender smiled and said, “I’m not. I’m Ramon.”
“Hi Ramon,” I said, trying to recover. I ordered a drink, explaining how I like it (which I never have to do with Pete), and looked over the menu I had long ago memorized, but it gave me something to do.
I ordered my food when my drink came out. It was a slow afternoon and Ramon leaned against the bar nearby, giving me enough space that we didn’t have to make small talk, but standing close enough that I could talk to him if I wanted to.
“So, Ramon,” I said.
“Yes?” he asked, sounding eager to strike up a conversation.
“Why are men so awful?”
He smirked at me. “What did he do?”
I wanted to be mad at the smirk, but I wasn’t. I got the humor in it, especially in my question that was bashing his whole gender. I launched into a tirade about my ex and the shit he put me through. Ramon listened, responding occasionally with the appropriate noises.
When I was done, he slid another drink across the bar to me without asking. “This one is on me. It sounds like you need it.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Don’t mention it,” he said with a smile. Then he leaned closer. “No, really, don’t mention it. I’m not supposed to buy drinks for the customers.” He winked at me as he pulled away, and I wondered if I should give him my number. Maybe romance wasn’t totally dead.
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” I reply, not sure where this conversation is going.
“How often do you come here?” Here is the library.
“As often as I can,” I answer. I don’t work at the library, but sometimes I wish I could. I’m sure it’s not the way it actually is, but it feels like a nice, quiet job where you shelve books and very few people talk to you. I’m sure that’s not reality, and there are a lot of things I wouldn’t like, but it certainly seems ideal when I’ve had elementary school students yelling at me all day.
I am an elementary school teacher, teaching fourth grade, and my kids this year are a handful. So, as often as I can, I go to the library and sit in the peace and quiet. Of course, there are sometimes kids in the library, so I can’t always get away with that, but I do as often as I can.
The gentleman in front of me says, “I can see why. Surrounded by books, sitting in the quiet. I would want to spend every minute here if I could.”
“I do,” I say. “I’m sure I would miss the busyness of the classroom, though.”
“I’m sure,” he says. “I’m Quentin,” he says, offering me his hand. “I’m a substitute today.”
“Welcome, Quentin. I’m Quinn.”
“Q names!” he exclaims. “We’re a rare breed.”
“We are,” I agree. “Are you supposed to be subbing in the library today?” I ask. I hope the answer is yes because my hand in his is warm and I would love to spend thirty minutes sitting with him.
“No, but I’m on my lunch break, so I thought I would take a breather in here.”
“A man after my own heart,” I said with a smile.
“Well, Ms. Quinn, I am mighty glad to have met you today.”
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
“I can’t even spell it,” I muttered as I wrote my information on the wedding invitation. Invitation. Like I had a choice? My mom would kill me if I didn’t go to my brother’s wedding, even if I didn’t really want to.
The invitation spelled out that all of the food at the reception would be pescetarian because my brother’s fiancee doesn’t eat any meat except fish. I don’t actually have a problem with anyone who chooses to be pescetarian. I don’t even have a problem with having the wedding be pescetarian. What I have a problem with is her.
I mailed in my RSVP card and prepared myself for the onslaught of shit I would have to deal with as I got ready for the wedding. Bridal shower, bachelorette party, and on and on. At least she wasn’t asking me to be in the wedding party. I was convinced that my only brother would want me to be a bridesmaid, but I was glad that she left me out of it entirely.
By the time the wedding arrived, I was ready to be done with the whole thing. I wanted nothing more than to just skip it, but I had no choice. I donned my light pink sheath dress and matching heels. Even if I wasn’t happy about the wedding, I was going to look stunning.
The wedding itself was uneventful. I hoped that the open bar at the reception would be more interesting, but I knew that I would have a bunch of people who would ask me about my date, or lack thereof. I was not looking forward to that.
“Peach martini?” I asked the bartender. He slid one across to me a minute later, and I sipped it tentatively. It was delicious.
“Hello, gorgeous,” a voice said as I turned around, carefully watching the edge of my martini glass to make sure I didn’t spill as I went back to my table.
My eyes flitted up to the voice. “Paul?”
“Hey, Patty.”
“I haven’t seen you in…”
“A decade, at least,” he said. Paul and my brother were best friends as kids. I hadn’t thought of him in ages, but I had always had a crush on him as a pre-teen little sister. “You’ve grown up.”
“You, too,” I said.
“Want to get some air?”
“Boy, do I.”
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
“I play all the woodwinds,” he boasted.
Oh really? I wondered. I didn’t want to butt into the conversation the couple on the train was having, but I wanted to call him on his obvious bull shit. There are a lot of woodwind instruments.
Lucky for me, I didn’t have to.
The woman said, “Even the oboe?”
There was a pause, and I wanted to turn and look at him so badly, but they were behind me, and I didn’t want it to be obvious that I was listening to their conversation. I had one earbud in, but I had long before paused my music to listen in on the conversation. Was it wrong of me? Maybe. But they were in a public place, after all.
When I sat down on the seat on the train, I didn’t pay them much attention except to note that they appeared to be on a date. They seemed slightly awkward with each other, and there was a lot of that first date little touches that indicated they might want to take things further.
I wondered if they were going to the event at the aquarium. My stop was a few past there, so it would be obvious if they were.
Finally, he answered her, “Okay, so not every woodwind, but most of them.”
Ha.
The doors opened at the aquarium stop and he said, “This is us.” They stood and I watched them leave the train.
I couldn’t help but chuckle and wonder how the rest of their date was going to go.
I felt the brush of someone sitting down next to me, and I glanced in his direction. “I couldn’t help but listen in on their conversation,” he said to me confidentially. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Not-oboe man and his date,” he clarified.
I smiled. “I tried not to listen, but it was too hard.”
“Right? I would bet money that there won’t be another date.”
“Seems unlikely,” I said.
“What about you?” he asked, “Would you be up for a date?”
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! I am excited to share with you some meet cutes (and maybe some sexy scenes) throughout the month of April! Richard is going to be chiming in with a few of his characters from his Hallmark story, too! Here is the next installment, but stay tuned every day (except Sundays) this month for a short scene! Like and comment, and maybe I’ll continue the more popular stories in May!
– Jayden
The cookie aisle at the grocery store. It’s my most loved and most hated place in the store. There are so many good cookies, and I want to buy them all. But no, I have to pick one. That’s my rule. Everything in moderation.
And then I spy it. My favorite type of cookie: Nilla Wafers. They’ve been out of stock recently, and there’s only one more box. But just as I reach for it, another hand grabs it before me. Gah!
Oops, I let the sound come out. I honestly didn’t mean to.
And then I see that the guy who picked it up was one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen. He reminds me of Dermott Mulrooney. He even has a little scar on the side of his mouth. I want to know what it would feel like to kiss it. I’m snapped out of my reverie by his voice.
“Sorry,” he says.
“Oh, it’s fine,” I say, waving his apology away. “I can pick a different cookie this week.”
He smiles at me awkwardly and then moves off down the aisle. A part of me is a little annoyed that he didn’t at least offer to let me have the box. I would have let him, of course, but it was the principle of the thing.
I was a little annoyed about it throughout the rest of my grocery store trip, but I had mostly shaken it off by the time I checked out.
I was pushing my cart out the door when suddenly, he was next to me.
“I’m sorry I took the last box of Nilla Wafers.”
I shrug, “It’s fine.”
“The thing is, they’re my grandmother’s favorite, and I don’t think she’ll be around much longer.”
“Oh,” I say, my whole perspective changing. I guess I should remember that I never know what someone else is going through. “I’m sorry.” My voice softens.
“It’s okay,” he says, though of course it’s not. I can tell that he’s struggling with the thought that he’s going to lose his grandmother, but also that he’s trying to talk to me… and flirt? Maybe? “Do you want a cookie?” he asks, smiling.
“I couldn’t,” I protest.
“Just a few. She won’t miss them,” he says. He opens the box and dumps out two cookies into the palm of his hand. He gestures to me, and I put out my hand. A couple of cookies drop into my palm.
“Thanks,” I say.
“You’re welcome,” he replies. He takes his hand and wraps his hand around mine, closing them around the cookies. “I hope you enjoy them.”
Check out what’s going on with other A to Z Bloggers on the Master List, and come back all month long! Leave us a comment if you’re participating, and I promise to visit your blogs, too!
J R Vincente 